the letter I just sent Arisia Programming

[rushthatspeaks]

Dear Arisia Programming:

Please remove me from any and all programming unless and until Crystal Huff's post detailing her experiences with and accusations against Noel Marc Rosenberg, currently the convention's president, is addressed in full. This would have to include sufficient consequences for Rosenberg, extending to being removed as the president and banned from the convention.

I believe Crystal Huff, and this also explains to me why the conduct complaint I brought against a panelist on a panel I moderated in 2015 (which was, admittedly, a relatively minor complaint) went absolutely nowhere and produced no effects. I had assumed that was due to overall disorganization, but I am no longer prepared to offer the benefit of the doubt.

I will not be attending this convention unless there are noticeable signs of organizational change, and I will be making this clear in public and on social media.

Regards,

[my wallet name]


Saw Huff's post via swan_tower; thanks.

The guy I tried to complain about in 2015 really didn't do anything too egregious-- he kissed my hand without asking me or warning me, which I found creepy, smarmy, and inappropriate for a panelist's actions on meeting the panel moderator for the first time. What I wanted the con to do was give him a warning, because I didn't think said warning would register in the guy's head coming from me. My complaint got lost in a sea of not knowing who I should be talking with, to whom I ought to be explaining what, and general bureaucratic weirdness. I was like, okay, it is a really minor thing, I'm not going to spend too much time and effort chasing it (even though I was pretty creeped out). I figured the people I was interacting with were probably having trouble with it because it was such a minor complaint and on the boundary where doing anything about it might be controversial; that sucked, but I understood it.

It now appears to be part of a pattern, and part of a much worse pattern than I had any way of seeing.

I am not going to Arisia anymore until they can offer evidence that they have rooted this pattern out.

Comments

[moon_custafer]

he kissed my hand without asking me or warning me, which I found creepy, smarmy, and inappropriate for a panelist's actions on meeting the panel moderator for the first time.

Ugh. Not that it would’ve stopped this person, by the sound of it, but now I’m picturing a “Should I Kiss This Hand” flowchart. The starting question would be “Am I currently living in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire?”

[rushthatspeaks]

"Is anyone in this interaction accurately known as the Dowager Duchess?"

... yeah. I froze up when the actual interaction happened, but it was like, thank you for telling me what kind of panelist you are going to be, I am now prepared to cut you off if you say one word that sounds like 'evolutionary psychology'...

[moon_custafer]

After I posted, it occurred to me that even if the answer to the “Are the two of you living under the Hapsburgs?” question is “Yes,” the next question on that branch would be “Is the the lady signalling that you have permission to kiss her hand, by holding it out to you with the knuckles facing upwards?” so yeah, no excuse.

[dewline]

A fair complaint.

[sovay]

Due to the order of friendlist, I just saw the news at kate_nepveu's. I will be writing to Arisia myself.

[rosefox]

I don't go to Arisia anymore because of a situation that happened when I was volunteering there in January 2011: a member of the security team (!) berated a member of my staff, and our report of it was brushed off and ignored for years. They finally, in mid-2013, permanently banned the guy from being staff (though not from being at the convention!), a process that required us to recount the events all over again because apparently three years is long enough to forget these things and several people were suggesting that he be reinstituted.

I guess not much has improved since then. Too bad. I had some really good times at Arisia, and liked it enough to pour a vast quantity of time and energy into volunteering for several years. But I don't feel safe there, and it sounds like I'm not the only one.

[lokifan]

Wow. Yeah. Good decision. :/